IPL 2023: Run-away Rinku makes the most of his opportunities to turn into ‘Lord’

Mumbai:  Having once considered taking up a job as a sweeper to supplant the meagre earnings of his lower-middle-class family, Rinku Singh eventually ran away from his home in Aligarh, Uttar Pradesh to the state capital to pursue a cricket career.

On a Super Sunday, Kolkata Knight Riders were thanking Rinku Singh for deciding to pursue the game despite the initial hardships after the 25-year-old batter sensationally smashed five sixes off successive deliveries in the final over to seal an improbable victory for his team against defending champions Gujarat Titans in Ahmedabad.

With five balls left in the final over, Kolkata Knight Riders needed 28 runs to win, Rinku Singh smashed five successive sixes to seal a memorable victory for his team. His brilliant assault prompted teammate Venkatesh Iyer to call him Lord Rinku.

Rinku’s brilliant blitzkrieg provided the perfect finishing touch to the topsy-turvy encounter in which fortunes flung from one side to the other. After Venkatesh Iyer (83) and Nitish Rana (45) put KKR on course to victory. But Gujarat Titans’ stand-in skipper Rashid Khan claimed a hattrick, having Andre Russell caught behind off an inside edge, Sunil Narine caught at deep mid-wicket and trapped Shardul Thakur lbw with a googly to turn the match in his team’s favor.

But Rinku, a left-handed batter and right-handed bowler, had other ideas as he smashed a 21-ball unbeaten 48, hitting five sixes in the final five balls of the match to seal a memorable victory for Kolkata Knight Riders.

The sensational assault will definitely pitch Rinku Singh in contention for a place in one of the Indian white-ball teams if continued to launch a few more such blitzkriegs.

Rinku came into prominence in IPL 2022 when had smashed 40 off just 15 balls for KKR and was on the verge of scripting an unlikely win against Lucknow Super Giants in their last league game. But a stunning catch from Evin Lewis on the penultimate ball of the game resulted in his dismissal and Kolkata ending on the losing side.

That knock indicated his potential and Sunday’s 48 not-out against Gujarat Titans cemented his reputation as a big-hatting batter capable of scripting miracles.

Rinku, whose father Khanchandra Singh worked in an LPG distribution company, spent his early years in a two-room quarter near the Aligarh Stadium along with his parents and four siblings.

He has come through the age-group competitions, playing for the U-16, U-19, and U-23 teams of Uttar Pradesh.

The 25-year-old Rinku, who was the leading run-scorer for UP in group stages of the 2018-19 Ranji Trophy with 803 runs from nine matches, was first picked by Kings Xi Punjab for IPL 2017 and the next year, he bagged an 80-lakh deal from KKR.

However, he could manage only 10 matches spread over three seasons as he missed the 2021 IPL with a knee injury but was picked by KKR once again in the 2022 auction.

On Sunday, he made up for some of that disappointment by helping his team to a memorable win.